How to Use silicon dioxide in a Sentence

silicon dioxide

noun
  • The top coat, in contrast, contained the promised silicon dioxide.
    Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 4 July 2018
  • In the case of flat glass, which makes up windows, that mixture may include sand (silicon dioxide), lime, and soda.
    Doug Main, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2018
  • This resin sits on top of a layer of silicon nitride on top of a layer of silicon dioxide.
    The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 29 Dec. 2023
  • To make the device, the researchers started with layers of silicon and silicon dioxide.
    John Timmer, Ars Technica, 10 Mar. 2022
  • When the researchers apply a gate voltage from under the silicon dioxide, electrons are drawn to the surfaces of the materials.
    IEEE Spectrum, 14 Apr. 2023
  • That hot side has an atmosphere made of silicon dioxide, more commonly known as quartz.
    Ryan Prior, CNN, 6 Nov. 2020
  • The palace of wisdom is a castle made of sand (i.e., curious arrangements of silicon dioxide).
    Matthew Walther, TheWeek, 6 Aug. 2020
  • The process generally begins with quartz’s cousin, quartzite, which consists in large measure of silicon dioxide.
    Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2023
  • Glass, meanwhile, is formed of the compound silica, also known as silicon dioxide.
    David Lumb, Popular Mechanics, 9 Dec. 2020
  • Then, as now, the material was made by melting silicon dioxide, or silica, at about 2000°C, and then using a variety of techniques to shape it.
    Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, 8 Apr. 2021
  • The silicon dioxide deriving from the volcanic ash covering the carcass.
    David Bressan, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2021
  • The majority of all glass is silicon dioxide—one part silicon, two parts oxygen.
    Katherine Ellen Foley, Quartz, 12 June 2020
  • The result is a pattern of silicon nitride pillars sitting on top of the silicon dioxide substrate — a metalens.
    The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 29 Dec. 2023
  • Meanwhile, silica sand — a type of sand high in silicon dioxide — is used for golf course bunkers, computer chips, glass, screens in electronic devices and even solar panels.
    Carla Delgado, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2022
  • In experiments, players worked on a lab simulator where they were asked to etch a memory hole, which is a trench in a silicon dioxide film that is used to create a memory cell.
    IEEE Spectrum, 22 Mar. 2023
  • The type of silica used to make cell phone chips is an ultra-refined and inherently delicate form of silicon dioxide particles.
    Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 24 Dec. 2022
  • This product has a notably clean flavor and was the only one devoid of silicon dioxide or other anticaking chemicals designed to keep the salts free-flowing.
    Paul Stephen, San Antonio Express-News, 16 June 2021
  • Using similar techniques, Weikart’s team engineered a way to suck all the air out of plastic containers—like a vial, syringe, or another shape—and replace it with silicon dioxide gas.
    Megan Molteni, Wired, 26 June 2020
  • The motion of the silicon dioxide could indicate a collapse, which would make the experiment a compelling confirmation of GRW predictions.
    Ramin Skibba, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2020
  • Almost half of it is silicon dioxide glass created by meteoroids hitting the moon, heating up and fusing the silicon topsoil into glass, then breaking it into tiny shards.
    Eric Niiler, Wired, 19 Aug. 2021
  • These insulating layers are often made of materials such as silicon dioxide and this has to be sputtered onto the surface using an electric field.
    The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 30 Nov. 2021
  • Scientists at Purdue University have made the fastest spinning object ever, a tiny ball of silicon dioxide that rotates 300 billion times per second.
    Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 17 Feb. 2020
  • Changing in the light The team created a small, thin flexible structure, not unlike a silicone bracelet, that contained one layer embedded with photonic crystals of iron oxide mixed with silicon dioxide.
    National Geographic, 11 Sep. 2019
  • Chalkboard paints typically contain talc, titanium dioxide, and silicon dioxide, making for a surface that will hold chalk.
    Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, 29 Apr. 2019
  • The coatings, known as passivation layers, are made from materials such as silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, and aluminum oxide.
    IEEE Spectrum, 13 June 2024
  • Traditionally, solar panels are made of glass, protecting the solar cell inside, which is made of silicon dioxide, which generates electricity when exposed to sunlight.
    Kyle J. Russell, USA TODAY, 28 June 2024
  • Glass, both ancient and modern, is a material usually made of silicon dioxide, or silica, that is characterized by its disorderly atoms.
    Carolyn Wilke, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Nov. 2021
  • Moganite, a crystal of silicon dioxide similar to quartz, is known to form on Earth in specific circumstances in sedimentary settings from alkaline fluids.
    Tereza Pultarova, Scientific American, 3 May 2018
  • The temperature sensor is made up of four layers; a layer of magnesium is encapsulated by two layers of silicon dioxide, an insulating material, and a layer below that serves as an adhesive.
    Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2022
  • Lifescaped's colors are often produced using silicon dioxide, a biodegradable compound found organically in nature.
    CNN, 3 June 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'silicon dioxide.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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